Colombian President Duque arrives in S. Korea for summit with Moon

Colombian President Ivan Duque on Tuesday began a three-day state visit to South Korea, which includes a summit with President Moon Jae-in on establishing a comprehensive bilateral partnership in key areas. Duque arrived in South Korea earlier Tuesday via Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, officials said. He is scheduled to hold a summit with Moon at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday, the second day of his South Korean state visit. According to officials, the state visit was arranged at the

PoliticsAug. 24, 2021

S. Korea reviewing special stay permits for country's Afghan community: justice minister

South Korea is reviewing granting special stay permits to Afghans residing in the country amid a humanitarian crisis erupting in Afghanistan following the Taliban's seizure of power, the justice minister said Tuesday. "The government is reviewing granting special residence permits to Afghans residing in the country," Justice Minister Park Beom-kye told reporters on his way to his office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul. About 400 Afghans are currently staying in South Korea, accordi

Foreign AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Military reports 3 COVID-19 cases

Two Army soldiers and a cadet have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,588, the defense ministry said Tuesday. An officer in Paju, north of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a vacation, while a solider based in the northwestern border town of Yeoncheon was found to have gotten infected during a vacation before discharge, according to the ministry. In the southeastern city of Yeongcheon, a cadet wa

DefenseAug. 24, 2021

California's assembly passes resolution to celebrate 'Kimchi Day'

California's legislature has passed a new resolution to celebrate kimchi, a popular Korean fermented side dish, to promote the consumption of healthier food, industry sources said Tuesday. Under the bill led by Californian Assemblyman Steven Choi, which was passed on the previous day, the US state of California plans to celebrate November 22 as "Kimchi Day," according to the World Institute of Kimchi. The latest move came as South Korea celebrated its first Kimchi Day in 2020 in line

Foreign AffairsAug. 24, 2021

NK paper calls for Japan to make reparations for colonial-era brutality

North Korea's main newspaper on Tuesday urged Japan to repent and make reparations for colonial-era brutality on the occasion of the 111th anniversary of Tokyo's annexation of the Korean Peninsula. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, pointed out that Japan forced Korea to sign the treaty in 1910, and called it a fabricated and illegitimate treaty. The paper challenged Japanese assertion that the annexation took effect legally with the approval of King Sunjong

North KoreaAug. 24, 2021

Ro Jae-hun and Jang Si-ho receive Gold Cross of Merit on Hungary's National Day.

GOLD CROSS -- Ro Jae-hun, the founding president of the Korea-Hungary Friendship Association and son of former President Roh Tae-woo (left), and Jang Si-ho (right) pose with Hungarian Ambassador Mozes Csoma after receiving the Hungarian Gold Cross of Merit, the country’s second-highest civilian honor, on Friday. Roh received the medal for contributing to Hungary-Korea ties, while Jang was recognized for his contribution to economic relations between the two countries.

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 24, 2021

New COVID-19 cases above 1,500, vaccinations to speed up

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 1,500 on Tuesday with COVID-19 infections showing little signs of abating as health authorities strive to speed up vaccinations. The country added 1,509 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,470 local infections, raising the total caseload to 239,287, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Tuesday's tally was compared with 1,418 on Monday, 1,628 on Sunday, 1,880 last Saturday and 2,052 last Friday. Daily

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Ruling party, govt. agree on record budget for 2022 to tackle COVID-19 crisis

The ruling party and the government on Tuesday agreed to draw up the biggest ever annual state budget of 605 trillion won ($518.7 billion) for 2022 to finance the country's efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. This represents a slight increase from this year's budget of 604.7 trillion won, including the regular budget of 558 trillion won and two rounds of COVID-19 response extra budget, they said. "The party and the government shared their commitment to allotting sufficient resources ne

PoliticsAug. 24, 2021

Typhoon Omais leaves behind flooded homes, damaged roads, railways in S. Korea

Typhoon Omais weakened into an extratropical cyclone Tuesday morning, after making landfall around midnight Monday, flooding roads and houses, and forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate in southern South Korean cities that lay in its path. Typhoon warnings issued the previous day were all lifted, but the weather service forecast heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters with strong winds, as well as occasional lightning and thunder, to continue throughout the day in the coastal areas and southe

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Typhoon Omais passing near S. Korea's southern island of Jeju

Typhoon Omais reached close to South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju on Monday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds, the weather agency said. The typhoon, packing a maximum wind speed of 25.3 meters per second, arrived near Seogwipo city of Jeju at around 7:40 p.m., and was travelling northeastward, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). It is forecast to be downgraded to an extratropical cyclone after midnight, but continue to bring heavy downpours and strong w

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021

USFK members allegedly hold 'no mask' dance party on base amid pandemic

A dance party was held at one of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)'s bases in South Korea last week where participants allegedly drank alcohol and danced without wearing masks while ignoring social distancing rules amid the pandemic, sources said Monday. The party took place at a club inside Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday, according to the sources. Images obtained by Yonhap News Agency show dozens of individuals dancing side by side without wearing face

DefenseAug. 23, 2021

Will abolishing private schools fix public education?

Private high schools in Korea face a phased abolition under Moon Jae-in administration’s policy aimed at widening equal opportunity in education. The education reform efforts will strip more than 70 private high schools of their status by 2025. But the move to abolish private schools is met by strong protest, with some critics decrying it as “unconstitutional.” “Abolishing private schools undermines the diversity and autonomy of edu

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021

Critical care patient numbers at last winter surge levels

Korea is seeing COVID-19 patients requiring critical care at levels last seen during the surge in the winter, with cities running out of beds to accommodate them. The number of critically sick patients reached 403 on Saturday, the highest since the string of nursing home outbreaks in January, exhausting hospitals across Korea. No critical care beds were left in Daejeon by Saturday’s end, with only about 30 percent remaining nationwide. COVID-19 projections by the National Institute f

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021

S. Korea to have 170m doses of COVID-19 vaccines next year: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea will have 170 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines available next year for the country's population of 52 million, a top Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday. President Moon Jae-in's Chief of Staff You Young-min made the comment apparently aimed at easing public concerns about the supply of vaccines during a National Assembly session. The total volume of vaccines that South Korea will be able to use in 2022 will reach 170 million doses, more than treble the nation's population, he said

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021

Parliamentary committee approves bill mandating

A parliamentary committee on Monday approved a contentious bill that requires the installation of surveillance cameras in hospital rooms despite strong opposition from medical groups. The Health and Welfare Committee gave its nod to the bill to revise the Medical Service Act in a plenary session. The bill, if finally passed at the National Assembly's general meeting, would mandate the installation and operation of closed-circuit TV cameras in hospital operation rooms. The passage came nine mo

PoliticsAug. 23, 2021

Fracas within main opposition gets worse

Conflict between main opposition party leader Lee Jun-seok and campaigners for the party’s leading presidential contender, Yoon Seok-youl, is flaring up again as Yoon fails to control his camp. A special adviser to Yoon called on Lee to step down as chairman of the People Power Party and join the camp of Yoo Seong-min, another presidential hopeful in the party, whom Lee is close to. Min Young-sam wrote on Facebook on Sunday that Lee should resign, support Yoo and say whatever he wants or

PoliticsAug. 23, 2021

US military says not asked to take in Afghan evacuees

United States Forces Korea said Sunday it has not been asked to house evacuees fleeing Afghanistan, where the Taliban swiftly took over the government after the US began withdrawing troops. The Wall Street Journal reported the previous day that the US was looking at American bases in Japan, Korea, Kosovo, Bahrain and Italy as the US expands efforts to fly thousands of Afghan evacuees, who feel threatened by the Taliban insurgents because of their association with US forces. “To date, USF

DefenseAug. 23, 2021

Afghans in Korea call for support as public split on refugee issue

About 30 families representing Afghans who have worked for the Korean government in the war-torn country called for support from authorities in front of the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday. “We are here to appeal to the Korean government to save our family because our families in Afghanistan are on the verge of being killed by the Taliban for cooperating with Korea,” one of the Afghan protesters told reporters. The protesters fear the fate of their Afghan relatives who have c

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021

US holds no hostile intent toward North Korea, urges for dialogue: nuclear envoy

The US holds no hostile intent toward Pyongyang, President Joe Biden’s point man on North Korea said Monday, reaffirming a willingness to meet his North Korean counterparts “anywhere, at anytime.” 　 Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, held talks with South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk in Seoul on Monday, to look for ways to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. Their session comes as the allies are holding combined military drills

North KoreaAug. 23, 2021

Despite virus woes, illegal operation of nighttime entertainment facilities continues

More than 4,000 people have been apprehended at illegally operating nighttime entertainment businesses over the last seven weeks, the National Police Agency said Monday. According to police, 635 cases of illegal activities have been uncovered after conducting on-site inspections of 56,699 businesses across the country from July 3 until Sunday. Police said there were 3,566 people who violated the infectious disease control and prevention act. The rest were violations of either the food sanitat

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021